Contemporary art market: Down but definitely not out!

The art market is down but definitely not out. This interesting observation is made by Georgina Adam of The UK Financial Times. The writer noted: “During 2006-08, feverish bidding and some speculation drove prices of the top works of art. Records continued to tumble in the salerooms. Since then, the amount of contemporary art sold has shrunk.”

The trend is global and gradual. According to Artprice.com, that tracks worldwide auction results, the auction sales volume of artists dropped in the first half of this year. The Contemporary art 100 index of Art Market Research that tracks the performance of a top ‘basket’ of 100 artists, also showed a drop over last year.

However, things have started looking up as the mood of collectors, curators, dealers and artists themselves, who converged on the British capital. As the Frieze art week threw open its doors, the question constantly being asked is: Where is the market now? Philippe Ségalot, art adviser to several top collectors comprising Christie’s owner François Pinault, stated “The market is there, albeit a bit shrunk. Buyers and sellers may be fewer, but the real collectors are still there.”

Assistant professor (finance), Maastricht University, Rachel Campbell, who advises London’s Fine Art Fund, was quoted as saying: “Once the economy improves, the broader art market will certainly improve as well. The art market historically tends to lag behind the financial markets by roughly about two years. But I believe that gap is narrowing now. People are talking of a double dip. I do not think (the art market) will go down again. However, it will plateau for a couple of years. I see slightly more risk in the short term - say up to two or three years - but not so much in the longer term. Then the growth will start again.”